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Former state workers outline abrupt 2011 firing

by KIX101.1 /1230 KFJB News Department,posted Apr 3 2014 10:07AM

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Four former state employees have cast doubt on state officials' claims that hundreds of thousands of dollars were saved through layoffs in 2011 as part of government reorganization.

The workers, testifying before the Senate Government Oversight Committee, claim some of their jobs are done by contractors at higher cost. They also claim laws were broken in the way their dismissals were handled in what Sen. Matt McCoy calls the Sept. 1 massacre.

The workers say their replacements were unqualified to perform the engineering and architectural jobs they held, jobs weren't posted, and replacements hired were close friends of administrators at the Iowa Department of Administrative Services.

A department spokesman says millions have been saved and the savings continue as the department runs more efficiently with fewer people and less paperwork.